GLOBALINSIDER NEWSLETTER

WORLD CLASS PRACTICES FOR CROSS-CULTURAL TEAMS AND THEIR LEADERS

NEWSLETTER ISSUE N°1 SAN FRANCISCO | SILICON VALLEY | LONDON MARCH 1, 2015

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Guest Article:

WHEN INTERNATIONAL TEAMS COLLIDE The  challenge  

Interna'onal  teams  are  a  fact  of  life  for   many   of   us.   They   cannot   be  avoided.   But   o9en   we   can   feel   the  frustra'on   of   collabora'ng   with  people   who   have   different   world-­‐views   from   ourselves   and   diverse  ways   of   communica'ng,   dealing  with  'me  and  building  trust.  

I   recently   spoke   to   the   HR   director  of   a   large   global   engineering  corpora'on   where   much   project  work   is   done   in   global,   dispersed  virtual   teams.   He   said   that   when  young   talented   engineers   are  promoted   to   lead   interna'onal  projects,   they   typically   say   ‘never  again!’   at   the   end.   They   rose   to   a  leadership   role   because   of   their  technical   skills   –   but   the   challenge  of   managing   diversity   virtually,   in  different   'me   zones,   was   just   too  much.   They   were   generally   logical,  task-­‐oriented   individuals   who   came  to   realise   that   technical   exper'se  and   task-­‐orienta'on   were   not   the  key  to  making  mul'cultural  teams  a  success.   Something   else   was  required   –   human   beings   are   not  ra'onal  or  as  malleable  as  a  spread-­‐sheet   or   project   plan.   As   the  German  philosopher  Immanuel  Kant  

said:   ‘Out   of   the   crooked   'mber   of  humanity,  no  straight  thing  was  ever  made.’  

Research  

Resea rch   by   D i S te fano   and  Maznevski   into   diverse   teams   has  shown  they  are  o9en  a  destruc've,  unproduc've  mess.  However,  when  they   do   gel,   their   performance   is  beSer   and   more   crea've   than   any  homogeneous  team.  

So   the   ques'on   is,   naturally,   what  are  they  doing  differently?  

1)  They  have  a  high  degree  of   self-­‐awareness   –   both  individually  and  as  a   team.  This   tends   not   to   come  naturally:   it   is   very   hard   to  see   ourselves   as   others   see  u s .   A s s e s s m e n t   a n d  measurement  can  help.  This  could  be  through  one  of  the  many  psychometric   tests  on  t h e   m a r ke t ,   t h r o u g h  videoing   team  mee<ngs,   or  t h r o u g h   a   c u l t u r a l  assessment.   CultureAc<ve  (www.cultureac<ve.com   )   is  one  such  assessment,  based  on   the   Lewis   Model   of  

Richard D. Lewis

Richard Lewis is an internationally renowned linguist and the founder of Richard Lewis Communications. He founded the Berlitz schools in East Asia, Portugal, and Finland and spent several years in Japan, where he was personal tutor to Empress Michiko and five other members of the Japanese Imperial family. He is the author of the award-winning book "When Cultures Collide," and lectures on cross-cultural issues around the world.

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GLOBALINSIDER NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER ISSUE N°1 SAN FRANCISCO | SILICON VALLEY | LONDON MARCH 1, 2015

Culture,   which   classifies  cultures   into   three   main  types,  as  follows:  

Germanic,   Anglo-­‐Saxon   and  Nordic   cultures   tend   to   be  more   linear-­‐ac;ve.   La<n,  African   and   Middle   Eastern  cultures   more   mul;-­‐ac;ve  and   East   Asian   cultures  more   reac;ve.   Of   course  individuals   from  any  culture  can  get  assessment  scores  a  long   way   from   what   is   the  sta<s<cal   average   for   their  culture. Team   members   (or   whole  departments   or   companies)  are   automa<cally   mapped  onto  a  triangle  –  as  below  -­‐  o n c e   e v e r y o n e   h a s  completed   an   assessment,  

and   the   results   are   used   to  heighten   awareness   and  generate   open   discussion  about  how  to  work  together  more  produc<vely.

2)   They  are  good  at  closing,  or  bridging   the   gaps   between  diverse   team   members.   A  key   way   to   achieve   this   is  through   modifying   our  communica<on   style,   and  puLng   ourselves   in   the  shoes  of  our  listeners.  I  once  e x p e r i e n c e d   a   g r e a t  example   of   this   technique  on  a  LuOhansa  flight.  We  hit  

According to The Economist, 90% of CEOs believe that understanding and leveraging culture would increase revenue and market share. But only around 30% do anything about it. Why? Because they are not sure what to do or how to measure it. The majority of diverse teams destroy value, yet the very best performing teams of all are also diverse. Competent cross-cultural leadership - based on measuring diversity in order to manage it - is the key to getting high performance from them.

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GLOBALINSIDER NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER ISSUE N°1 SAN FRANCISCO | SILICON VALLEY | LONDON MARCH 1, 2015

really   bad   turbulence,   and  the   pilot   explained   the  s i t u a<on   i n   a   h i g h l y  ‘Germanic’   way   to   the  German  passengers  –  full  of  technical   details,   context  and   background,   in   long  s en ten ce s   w i t h   many  clauses.   There   is   surely   a  connec<on   between   the  c o m p l e x i t y   o f   t h e  gramma<cally   synthe<c  German   language   and   a  German   desire   for   complex  explana<ons.   When   the  pilot   switched   to  his  perfect  American  English,  all  he  said  was   ‘Well….as   you   can   see,  we   are   on   a   bit   of   a   roller-­‐coaster,   so   just   sit   back,  <ghten   your   seat   belts   and  enjooooooy   the   ride!’   For  

the  Americans,  the  fact  that  the   pilot   sounded   relaxed  and  humorous  was  enough.  Team   members   need   to   be  aware  their  own  and  others’  communica<on   styles   and  at   least   try   and   come   half  w a y .   M a n y  misunderstandings   are   also  caused   by   a   mixture   of  direct   and   indirect   styles  within   the  team.  The  Bri<sh  philosopher,   John   Locke,  believed   that   the   vast  m a j o r i t y   o f   h u m a n  misunderstand ing   was  actually  verbal.

3)   T h e y   a r e   g o o d   a t  i n t e g r a ; n g   d i ff e r e n t  approaches.   It   is   all   very  

Richard Lewis Communications

is a global organization with over 350 employees and consultants around the world. We enable individuals and their organizations to communicate successfully across cultures in order to achieve sustainable improvements in performance. Drawing on experience in the field of international training gained since 1955, we have worked with the HR & Training departments of more than 800 multinationals from over 60 countries. We are dedicated to providing a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of services in the areas of cross-culture training and consultancy, helping individuals and organizations rise to the challenge of international assignment.

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GLOBALINSIDER NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER ISSUE N°1 SAN FRANCISCO | SILICON VALLEY | LONDON MARCH 1, 2015

well   having   diverse   skills,  b u t   oOen   i n s uffic i e n t  a[en<on   is   paid   to   actually  doing   anything   about   it.  Communica<on  plays  a  part  here  as  well.  Probably  of  all  three   cultural   types,   the  most   under-­‐used,   least  integrated   in   interna<onal  teams   is   the   ‘reac<ve’.    Reac;ves   tend   to   be   deep  thinkers   who  may   have   the  best  ideas  at  all.  Yet  because  they   tend   to   think   before  speak ing ,   to   be   non -­‐interrup<ve,   and   not   to  ini<ate,   their   value   can   be  wasted.   One   idea   is   for   the  team  to  do  a  Cultural  SWOT  Analysis   together,   focusing  on   the   diverse   skills   they  

have,   then   plan   how   to   use  them.   None   of   this   is   what  the   Americans   would   call  ‘rocket   science’.   But   it   is  amazing   how   easily   we  forget   to   do   the   simple  things   that   could   really  improve  our  performance.  

The   Economist   Intelligence  U n i t ’ s   2 0 1 2   r e p o r t  ‘Compe;ng  Across  Borders’  claimed   that   a   significant  number   of   companies   are  stuck  at  the  stage  where  the  benefits   of   overcoming  c u l t u r a l   b a r r i e r s   a r e  recognized   but   not   enough  is   done   to   address   the  challenge.   This   is   true   not  only   for   companies   as   a  whole,   but   at   team   level,  

Martin Global Leaders

is a premier global leadership development firm that enables organizations to create powerful teams and leaders to achieve world-class performance in today’s global economy. We specialize in helping companies harness creativity and innovation from cultural diversity, improve speed-to-market through more aligned organizational culture, and achieve better growth. Our clients include executives and management teams stepping up to major new opportunities in local and international markets. With experts on six continents, we bring our clients best practices in leadership development and team performance drawn from our assignments and research around the world. Martin Global Leaders helps you build world-class leadership and team performance.

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GLOBALINSIDER NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER ISSUE N°1 SAN FRANCISCO | SILICON VALLEY | LONDON MARCH 1, 2015

where   i t   ought   to   be  r e l a<ve l y   e a sy   to   do  something  about  it.  

Trust  

In   the  end,   trust   is   the  ground-­‐rock  f o r   a n y   s u c c e s s f u l   h um a n  interac'on,   yet   trust   is   built   in  different  ways  across  cultures,  as   in  the  diagram  below  

Being   aware   of   different   trust-­‐building   strategies,   and   applying  them  within  your   teams,   can  do  no  harm,  and  will  almost  certainly  lead  to  beSer   results.   If  you  are  a  mul'-­‐ac've   who   likes   to   exaggerate   and  promise   the   earth   in   order   to   keep  enthusiasm   high,   think   for   a  moment   about   the   effect   this   may  have  on  a   linear-­‐ac've.   If  you  are  a  logical   and   direct   linear-­‐ac've,  consider   that   you   may   make   your  

reac've   colleague   lose  face.   If   you   are   reac've,   remember  that   trying   to   save   the   face  of   your  l inear-­‐   or   mul'-­‐ac've   team  members  may   not   be   as   important  to   them   as   understanding   your  opinions  clearly.  

Showing  value  

HR   has   a   great   role   to   play   in  developing   ways   of   demonstra'ng  to   senior   level   management   the  importance   of   geUng   cross-­‐cultural  co l l a bo ra'on   r i g h t ,   a nd   o f  measuring   the  ROI   in  doing   so.   It   is  intangible  stuff,  so  not  easy,  but  not  impossible.   Doing   so   will   certainly  boost   the   perceived   value   of   HR’s  work.  

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Upcoming Learning Events

Martin Global Leaders is proud to sponsor the following events, and we invite you to join us and contribute your ideas and questions:

• "Multicultural Teams: Dreams or Disaster?”Webinar — Wednesday 18 March 2015 at 9.00 a.m. (PST)

• “When Cultures Collide” Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, California – 20 April 2015

• “Multicultural Teams: Dream or Disaster?” BOLD Event, Palo Alto, California — 21 April 2015

• “Leveraging Culture and Leading Your Global Team to Top Performance" Workshops, San Francisco — Silicon Valley, California — Wed. Apr. 22 2015

•

For more information and to register, please visit www.martingloballeaders.com.

Please call us at +1 (408) 916-1645.

Global Leadership Development

Martin Global Leaders helps firms of all sizes achieve greater innovation and speed to market through world class leadership development and executive coaching.. Please contacts us at +1 (408) 916-1645.